'Gang leaders are soccer lovers' - Haiti play with hope for peace

Image source, Getty ImagesByMani DjazmiBBC SportPublished28 minutes agoFor two days, the violence stopped. The arrival of then world champions Brazil for an exhibition match in conflict-torn Haiti brought the capital Port-au-Prince to a standstill in 2004. "Are you sure the Brazilians are playing in Haiti? It sounds like the Brazilians are at home," Haitian journalist Pierre Richard Midy remembers his foreign friends asking him. It looked like it too. Waving Brazilian flags and wearing yellow and green shirts and face paint, thousands of locals lined the streets and climbed the trees for a better view of their heroes including Ronaldo, Ronaldinho and Roberto Carlos. With Haiti's sole men's World Cup appearance having been in 1974, fans had long turned to Brazil as their team to support on the biggest stage. Their passion has further increased in the past couple of decades through Brazil's key roles in supporting peacekeeping, humanitarian aid and migration. Haiti lost the match 6-0, but the United Nations (UN)-organised friendly was about so much more in a Caribbean island nation dominated by gang warfare. Midy recalls "an atmosphere of peace" and that gangs seemed "ready to turn the page and cease fire for two days". This year Haitians are preparing for the rare chance to not only support their own team at the World Cup, but also play against Brazil again. They are both in Group C, alongside Scotland and Morocco. Streets have been cleaned and Haitian flags hung with pride, while fans are finding creative ways to watch the action in a country where there is a chronic electricity shortage. Once again, football for them is about hope, not scorelines. Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Security was tight when Brazil visited Haiti with the World Cup trophy in 2004 Largely in the hands of gangs and grappling with a humanitarian crisis deepened by natural disasters, such as the 2010 earthquake that killed more than 100,000 people, Haiti is so dangerous that the national team have not played a home match for five years. Their coach has never set foot on the island, most of their players were born abroad and it will be hard for fans to be at the World Cup as US travel bans imposed by President Donald Trump's administration - together with cost - put the notion out of reach. "We have many players who have never been in Haiti, so before the game starts, sometimes I used to share with them the reality of the country, the responsibility we have on our shoulders," said Haiti's all-time top scorer Duckens Nazon. "When we put the shirt on, it's more than a normal game. We are the first independent black nation in the world. We have a lot of history. We have to assume this role." One player who knows the realities all too well is Woodensky Pierre, Haiti's only domestic-based player. The defensive midfielder was raised in the slum of Cite Soleil and plays for one of Haiti's biggest clubs, Violette AC, whose home ground - the Stade Sylvio Cator - had hosted Haiti's home matches until it was taken over by gangs two years ago. Violette became league champions a month before the World Cup, but in an illustration of what daily life is like in Haiti, the start of their final match was delayed by gunfire. Woodensky, as he is known, was initially called up by Sebastien Migne purely on the basis of online videos because the Haiti coach could not see him play in the flesh. "This player is from one of the most dangerous neighbourhoods in Haiti. He plays with instinct because he learned early that hesitation costs you everything," said Midy. "He is precious for Haitian people because we think he's the one to say, 'we are not dead, we have talent here'. He always says, 'I'm not only carrying the ball, I'm carrying the hopes where I come from'." Nazon hopes the example of Woodensky, and the team in general, can leave a legacy that inspires peace. "This is what we try to share with the new generation," he said. "You're not obligated to take weapons. You're not obligated to go with gangs or to deal or smoke drugs. There are so many ways to get out of the struggle." In 2021, the country was thrown into chaos by the assassination of President Jovenel Moise, who has never been replaced, leaving Haiti's gangs to fill the void. According to Amnesty International, 5,600 people were reported killed in Haiti in 2024 alone. The population is estimated at about 11.5 million. Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Haiti are the first Caribbean nation to qualify for more than one edition of the men's World Cup Haiti have been playing their 'home' matches 500 miles away in Curacao. Sixteen of Haiti's players were born abroad, across five countries. The 26-man squad represents 25 clubs from 15 countries. The man who has woven these threads into a coherent outfit is Frenchman Migne, who was Cameroon's assistant coach at Qatar 2022. "When I'm watching the games of Haiti, I cannot explain how he does it. I asked him, h

'Gang leaders are soccer lovers' - Haiti play with hope for peace

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